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  <div class="section" id="enable-exports">
<span id="prop_tgt:ENABLE_EXPORTS"></span><h1>ENABLE_EXPORTS<a class="headerlink" href="#enable-exports" title="Permalink to this headline">¶</a></h1>
<p>Specify whether an executable exports symbols for loadable modules.</p>
<p>Normally an executable does not export any symbols because it is the
final program.  It is possible for an executable to export symbols to
be used by loadable modules.  When this property is set to true CMake
will allow other targets to “link” to the executable with the
<span class="target" id="index-0-command:target_link_libraries"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../command/target_link_libraries.html#command:target_link_libraries" title="target_link_libraries"><code class="xref cmake cmake-command docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">target_link_libraries()</span></code></a> command.  On all platforms a target-level
dependency on the executable is created for targets that link to it.
Handling of the executable on the link lines of the loadable modules
varies by platform:</p>
<ul class="simple">
<li><p>On Windows-based systems (including Cygwin) an “import library” is
created along with the executable to list the exported symbols.
Loadable modules link to the import library to get the symbols.</p></li>
<li><p>On macOS, loadable modules link to the executable itself using the
<code class="docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">-bundle_loader</span></code> flag.</p></li>
<li><p>On AIX, a linker “import file” is created along with the executable
to list the exported symbols for import when linking other targets.
Loadable modules link to the import file to get the symbols.</p></li>
<li><p>On other platforms, loadable modules are simply linked without
referencing the executable since the dynamic loader will
automatically bind symbols when the module is loaded.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>This property is initialized by the value of the variable
<span class="target" id="index-0-variable:CMAKE_ENABLE_EXPORTS"></span><a class="reference internal" href="../variable/CMAKE_ENABLE_EXPORTS.html#variable:CMAKE_ENABLE_EXPORTS" title="CMAKE_ENABLE_EXPORTS"><code class="xref cmake cmake-variable docutils literal notranslate"><span class="pre">CMAKE_ENABLE_EXPORTS</span></code></a> if it is set when a target is created.</p>
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